On the recordJanuary 9, 2018
I represent Newark, New Jersey, home of Port Newark and Newark Liberty International Airport. Port Newark is the busiest container port on the East Coast, handling over 700,000 cargo containers annually. In 2015, over 37 million passengers traveled through Newark Liberty International Airport, including many traveling into the United States from abroad. As a Member of Congress representing the largest port on the Eastern seaboard and one of the busiest international airports in the country, it is important to me that the Federal Government do everything in its power to push out our borders--to prevent dangerous cargo and dangerous people from coming into our country. The DHS Overseas Personnel Enhancement Act of 2017 would do just that by directing the Department to develop and execute an overseas personnel assessment and enhancement plan. As we speak, nearly 2,000 DHS employees are stationed around the globe, engaging in terrorism prevention, counternarcotics, and antihuman smuggling activities in more than 70 countries. About half of DHS personnel deployed overseas are from Customs and Border Protection, who are responsible for screening U.S.-bound passengers at airports, inspecting cargo being loaded onto ships bound for the U.S., and training other nations' customs and border forces.…
